Contributed by the Chatham Kent Community Foundation
The Chatham Kent Community Foundation, through its Community Fund, along with South Kent Wind through the South Kent Wind Community Fund, has donated $40,000 to the construction of additional infrastructure at St. Clair College’s Thames Campus.
The investment was announced on February 23 by Hugh Logan, Executive Director of the Chatham Kent Community Foundation.
The funding will support a major expansion in the Chatham-Kent community. This investment will contribute to St. Clair College’s new National Powerline Training Centre, creating an additional 6,500 square feet of flexible learning space that will house the Powerline Technician program. This will enable the Chatham campus to provide learning opportunities with respect to the powerline skilled trade, which is currently in demand in Ontario and across Canada.
As a result of this investment, students and professors will work in state-of-the-art facilities that advance the country’s best powerline trades training. They will collaborate in specially designed spaces that support lifelong learning and skills training. They will be working closely with partners in the energy sector. Students will train for high-value jobs of the future.
Currently, the average age of a powerline technician in Canada is over 50. Providing training opportunities to a new generation of students – and employees – in this skilled trade is critical to our province and country.
“This investment is exciting news for St. Clair College and the southwestern Ontario region,” Logan said. “St. Clair has made a commitment in its mission statement to provide students with an accessible, dynamic and supportive learning environment which adapts to their changing requirements. This announcement will help achieve that goal.
Thames Campus Academic Studies Chair Mark Benoit said, “This investment in the National Powerline Training Centre at our Chatham campus demonstrates how important postsecondary education is to the well-being of this region, the province, and the nation as a whole. We know that providing access to high-quality education and training facilities is critical to building the highly skilled workforce we need to support the energy sector and economic growth for today and tomorrow, and this investment will help us to achieve that goal. St. Clair College is very grateful for this support as it continues to deliver education and trades training that will meet the needs of industry and our communities.”
The National Powerline Training Centre – which has also been developed with federal/provincial infrastructure grants – will consist of:
- 6,500 square feet of flexible learning space;
- Indoor pole climbing lab;
- Indoor repelling and bucket rescue lab;
- Tool and supplies crib;
- Truck and equipment storage; and
- Office space.
